Perceived stress is not the events themselves but how far a person judges their life to be unpredictable, uncontrollable and overwhelming. The concept rests on Lazarus's transactional model of stress: what matters is the balance between the demands of the environment and one's own coping resources.
Why the subjective appraisal matters more than the event
One and the same event, one person experiences as a challenge and another as a catastrophe. It is precisely the subjective appraisal that triggers the physiological response. That is why perceived stress often predicts health better than a formal "list of stressors".
How it is measured
The gold standard of self-report is the Perceived Stress Scale PSS-10 (Cohen, Kamarck, Mermelstein, 1983). A person rates how often over the past month they felt overwhelmed and unable to control the situation.
The link with health and aging
High perceived stress is associated with biological markers: cortisol levels, immune measures and the shortening of telomeres, as well as with the risk of depression and infections. Chronic overstrain turns into chronic stress and accumulates as allostatic load.
Calculate using this marker
Calculators where Perceived stress is used directly:
Frequently asked questions
How does perceived stress differ from stress in general?
Stress as a reaction is triggered by the body, while perceived stress is your subjective appraisal of the load. It is the appraisal (whether or not I control the situation) that largely determines the strength of the physiological response.
Can you lower perceived stress without changing your circumstances?
Yes. Because appraisal plays the key role, cognitive reappraisal, restoring a sense of control, sleep, physical activity and social support all help — even when the events themselves cannot be changed.
Related terms
Sources
- Wikipedia — Perceived Stress Scale
- Laboratory for the Study of Stress, Immunity, and Disease (Carnegie Mellon University)
- American Psychological Association — Stress effects on the body